The American Medical Association will consider how it will move forward on several high-profile FDA issues during a meeting of its House of Delegates which starts Saturday (June 15).

House Appropriations Committee leaders on Thursday (June 13) agreed to work to exempt future FDA user fees from sequestration as part of a broader effort to address the cuts or during conference with Senate appropriators in lieu of voting on an amendment to the FDA funding bill that would exclude future product user fees from the across-the-board cuts.

FDA disobeyed a court order by proposing a time frame that lacks concrete deadlines for completing delayed Food Safety Modernization Act rules, according to the Center for Food Safety.

Connecticut's legislature this week became the first to pass a bill mandating the labeling of genetically engineered food, but Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) is refusing to sign the bill unless other states pass similar measures, a move that potentially could nudge others to act.

FDA's update of Current Good Manufacturing Practices in the proposed hazard analysis and preventive controls rule raises questions about whether the agency will use the Food Safety Modernization Act to expand its authorities over seafood, juice and low-acid canned food suppliers, according to two industry attorneys.

The Institute of Medicine appeared to backtrack this week on previous recommendations for salt intake levels that have become the basis for groups pushing FDA to set sodium consumption limits, raising questions about the scientific rationale used to support lower sodium intake and suggesting more research is needed to determine the association between salt consumption and health outcomes.

The Supreme Court's unanimous ruling that a farmer is not allowed to plant or harvest patented seeds without the patent holder's permission upholds protections of other self-replicating technologies, the biotechnology industry said in hailing the court's opinion in Bowman v. Monsanto issued Monday (May 13).

The American Herbal Products Association has sent FDA a draft guidance proposal, broadly backed by other industry groups, that outlines how to identify new dietary ingredients with the hope that the agency will adopt the industry document as the parties continue hashing out other controversial issues.

House appropriators with jurisdiction over FDA debated reducing the impact of sequestration on the agency, as it has recently done for others, so that FDA could fulfill commitments it made to the drug and device industries during user fee negotiations last year.

A bipartisan group of senators, including the leaders of the Senate health committee, Wednesday (April 24) asked FDA to set a “clear timeline to develop an antimicrobial data collection strategy” -- a request issued in lieu of an amendment expected to be offered when animal drug user fee legislation eventually hits the Senate floor, advocates and congressional sources said.

An environmental advocacy group's claim that antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” are invading American supermarkets prompted an unusual rebuke from FDA on Monday (April 22), which asserted that the group was misleading and did not give context in its analysis of government antimicrobial resistance data.

Continued budget constraints could force FDA and appropriators to consider industry fees to fill funding gaps that threaten full implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act, according to the new chairman of the Senate appropriations panel with jurisdiction over FDA's funding.

FDA's $4.7 billion budget request for fiscal 2014 includes a nearly $300 million bump over fiscal 2012 levels for food safety, including additional budget authority and a new fee, according to budget documents released Wednesday (April 10).

The Obama administration is asking Congress to give FDA more funding to implement the new food safety law, finish upgrades of new laboratories and strengthen inspections in China, while also seeking savings in drug and device programs.

The Council for Responsible Nutrition Wednesday (April 3) outlined voluntary guidelines for companies producing caffeinated supplements, with the document suggesting products include labeling restrictions for children and companies refrain from marketing products in combination with alcohol.

FDA should collect information about brands, processing plants and the purchase date of retail meat and poultry samples along with bacterial DNA in an effort to speed its response to salmonella outbreaks, Pew said Tuesday (April 2) in a report analyzing the government's response to a 2011 Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak in ground turkey.

Documents tracking the White House Office of Management and Budget changes to FDA's proposed preventive controls rule heated up debate this week on whether the agency should include testing and supplier verification provisions in the final rule.

Pew Charitable Trusts is urging FDA to remove language codifying in regulation a list of raw fruits and vegetables exempt from the proposed produce safety rule standards because they are subject to a “kill step,” and instead include that list in a guidance document so the agency can react quickly to evolving information and emerging foodborne illness outbreaks.

A coalition of 277 groups representing small farms and businesses is highlighting challenges with an FDA food safety rule's requirements for water and soil as it seeks more time to comment on the proposed regulations, which also include record keeping requirements that could take a toll on small businesses.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) made several policy adding changes before reintroducing legislation addressing seafood labeling fraud, including adding more flexibility for FDA to determine how to incorporate federal, state and local inspection data into its seafood inspection program and clarifying provisions in light of the agency's new seafood responsibilities under the Food Safety and Modernization Act.